I remember when Burundi Ngozi was first introduced to the Starbucks Reserve line. It was in 2013, I was living in Seattle, and it was one of the first Reserve coffees I had there. I was obsessed with the black tea like aromas and cinnamon spice notes. Now, it’s been 5 years, but Burundi Ngozi has come back around a few times, and each time it steals a little piece of my heart.
In the northern mountains of a tiny landlocked country, specialty coffee is emerging as a source of hope and opportunity. Known for high altitudes, heavy rainfall and rich volcanic soil, the Ngozi region has been working to realize its potential since the coffee industry was privatized in 2009. This coffee comes from small-holder farms located in Northern Burundi: the Ngozi and Kayanza provinces.
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A few months ago, Starbucks announced the reformulation of their at home coffee lineup in stores. Many core coffees were removed, and a new wave of promotional coffees have been added. I won’t lie, my heart almost stopped when I saw we were discontinuing Kenya in our stores. My go to iced coffee in the summertime. Of course there are so many other great coffees to choose from, but Kenya has my heart.
When I was in Maui a few years back, I became obsessed with one of the “Hawaii only” offerings; Thai walls. You can order any drink with thai walls, and it is essentially sweetened condensed milk drizzled in the cup. I normally drink my coffee black, but this was a game changer. Suddenly I was ordering everything with thai walls. Strawberry Acai refreshers, Starbucks double shots, flat whites, but my favorite was the cold brew. Imagine drinking cold brew with a hint of vanilla frosting. That’s exactly what it tastes like. Those few weeks in Hawaii were so special to me, and being back in California, where every day is in the 90’s (or today was in the 100s), sitting by the pool under a palm tree, I am almost transported back to the island. Almost.
Well, hello there! It’s been a little while. I took a little social media hiatus, but now I am back and ready to get back to business!
The latest single origin release comes from East Timor. East Timor Tatamailau. This washed dark roast has herbal notes with a cocoa finish.